FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2017, file photo provided by the NHRA, Brittany Force races to the Top Fuel victory at the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals drag races at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Force remembers nothing about the hard crash that hospitalized her overnight during the NHRA season opener nearly two weeks ago. The defending Top Fuel champion says in a question-and-answer session released by her team, John Force Racing, that she watched part of the crash on a cell phone and "it was much worse than I expected." Force was hospitalized following a wall-banging accident at the Winternationals in Pomona, Calif,, on Feb. 11. (Jerry Foss/NHRA via AP, File)

Brittany Force cleared to race 2 weeks after jarring crash

Brittany Force cleared to race 2 weeks after jarring crash

Feb. 23, 2018

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Brittany Force has been cleared to return less than two weeks after a jarring crash in the NHRA season opener and plans to race this weekend at the Arizona Nationals.

Force arrived at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside of Phoenix on Thursday and got back in the dragster for the first time since a harrowing wreck at the Winternationals in Pomona, California, on Feb. 11. She plans to make her first pass during qualifying runs Friday.

Force says "Honestly felt good to be strapped back in and I was surprised how comfortable I was. I'm looking forward to getting back in my car and getting back in the swing of things with my guys."

The reigning Top Fuel champion has three runner-up finishes in five starts in Arizona, including consecutive finals in 2016 and 2017.